Instant gratification crafts are always some of the most satisfying. True, finishing an intense long-term project like a wedding quilt or reupholstering a flea market find is really rewarding. But everyone loves a project you can enjoy right away…especially our graphic designers, who already log long hours being creative at their 9 to 5s (ok, more like 9 to 7s, 8s, 9s …). Aya Akazawa, a senior designer in our home group, shares these cute, totally do-able projects she made using the papers that she designed for our Creatures & Critters Origami Craft Pad (due out this spring!). The origami projects offered in the Craft Pad are adorable in their own right, but Aya shows there’s a lot more you can do with the papers than folding cute critters and creatures. Pre-order a Craft Pad today and prepare for a much prettier world!

Aya shares a bit of her creative process and Japanese crafting history:

“I just finished designing papers for our Critters & Creatures Origami Craft Pad. I’ve been separated from the world of traditional Japanese craft for some time, but this experience pulled me back in touch! Here is a little craft trivia for you: Did you know back when we didn’t have the technology to print patterns directly onto whatever we desire, Japanese people used a type of figured rice paper called Chiyogami to decorate small objects? The Craft Pad’s origami papers are not technically Chiyogami, but I still thought, ‘Why not use them to decorate stuff?’ So I did! All the things above got origami-paper makeovers. The most practical one is IKEA frame wall art. I like using small frames to mix & match different colored and patterned papers to decorate the walls–maybe I should paint the frames once I make the final selection of the origami papers. Match boxes also turned out great, but I have to say my favorite is the super concise English dictionary that I used to carry when I first came to the United States. Now it looks like a cute journal and I kind of want to start carrying it again! Next project on my list: an origami creature mobile. My sister just had a baby girl, and I think floating rabbits, birds, frogs, and horses will make a cute hand-made gift…”